Chiba City.
Late at night.
A church.
Even though it was already late at night, devout believers were still gathered with the pastor inside the church, confessing and praying before the cross.
Standing on the raised platform, the pastor spoke in a devout and gentle voice:
"Dear brothers, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath, for it is written in the Old Testament: 'The Lord says, vengeance is Mine, I will repay.'"
"Amen."
The believers below lowered their heads and responded reverently.
However, even at this late hour, the believers and the pastor were not the only people inside the church.
Hidari Okumuro sat on a pew in one corner of the church, calmly gazing at the cross not far away.
The weather outside was cold, and she still had someone to wait for. Since there were no other buildings nearby that remained open, Hidari Okumuro had stepped into a church for the first time in her entire life.
Hidari Okumuro had always believed that someone like her would never have any connection with religion.
More than thirty years had passed since her childhood, yet Hidari Okumuro had never once entered a church. Perhaps that was also because, during all her years as a police officer, she'd never encountered a murder case whose crime scene happened to be inside one.
The sharp rhythm of high heels clicking against the floor approached.
Hearing those familiar footsteps, Hidari Okumuro knew that the person she'd been waiting for had arrived.
She did not stand to greet her. It wasn't because the two of them were particularly close. She simply understood the other woman far too well.
Hidari Okumuro knew that after entering the church, the woman she was waiting for would first sit down on a pew, close her eyes, pray to the Lord, and confess her sins.
A woman with naturally gray, waist-length hair walked over and sat beside Hidari Okumuro. Her hands were still covered by the same pair of black gloves that had practically become her personal trademark.
After placing the pure black briefcase she'd been carrying beside her, the gray-haired woman did not greet Hidari Okumuro. Instead, she closed her eyes first, lowered her head slightly, and took out the cross pendant she always kept tucked inside her clothes. Clasping it tightly in both hands, she began to pray and confess in silence.
Hidari Okumuro did not disturb her. She simply waited quietly for the prayer to end. Sitting beside the gray-haired woman, all Hidari needed to do was turn her head slightly to see the distinct scar branded across the woman's left eye.
As the gray-haired woman prayed and confessed, the pastor on the platform continued speaking.
"Let us remember the words of Romans 12:19. Now, let us pray together."
Several minutes later, the gray-haired woman tucked away her cross pendant once more, straightened her posture, and slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing that she'd finished praying and confessing, Hidari Okumuro took the initiative to speak.
"Honestly, I don't know whether I should call you devout or blasphemous. The pastor and everyone below have only just started praying, yet you're already finished. If you pray to Jesus in two separate batches like this, don't you think the old man might get tired?"
"It doesn't matter. I've already told the Lord everything I wanted to pray about and everything I wanted to confess. Following the pastor's pace would only feel troublesome to me. I don't exactly have the leisure to sit around in a church listening to a pastor talk for half the day. Usually, I come in, find any seat, offer a brief but sincere prayer and confession, then leave immediately."
The gray-haired woman spoke slowly before turning to look at Hidari Okumuro beside her.
"Fair enough. You're already a prosecutor with the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office. Finding even a little time to come to church is probably difficult enough as it is, isn't it?" Hidari Okumuro said with a faint smile.
The gray-haired woman Hidari Okumuro had been waiting for, the same woman who had just prayed and confessed so devoutly before the Lord, was Keryo Ikari, who had recently begun investigating the cases of nurses suffering mental breakdowns while continuing her pursuit of "Black Xu Fu."
"Is it just my imagination? I could've sworn I heard a trace of envy in what you just said." Keryo Ikari asked with a reminiscent smile.
"Mm. You're right. I am a little envious of you, but I'm not jealous. You've worked hard enough, and you're capable enough, that you deserve your position as a prosecutor," Hidari Okumuro replied with a faint smile.
Keryo Ikari, however, looked genuinely surprised after hearing that.
"Now that's unexpected. I'm starting to wonder whether you're really the Officer Hidari I used to know. You never seemed like someone who would envy people for holding high-ranking positions."
Faced with Keryo Ikari's surprise, Hidari Okumuro merely gave a bitter smile.
"After people go through certain things, they inevitably mature. Sometimes you suddenly realize that things you once looked down on actually contain an astonishing amount of power.
"Take criminal investigations, for example. With certain cases at a sufficiently high level, even if you climbed all the way to Superintendent General, trying to investigate them could still leave you unable to take a single step forward.
"One careless move might even cause your standing within the Metropolitan Police Department to collapse overnight. But if you have a powerful backer or an influential family behind you, then no matter how high-level the case is, even someone outside the police hierarchy could investigate it without encountering any obstruction.
"It's an unbelievably ironic reality. And what's even more ironic is that I'm currently working for exactly that kind of powerful family. They've hired me as a private detective to investigate a case that has been buried for a very long time.
"If I were still an Assistant Inspector right now, I probably would've received warnings from every direction before I could even begin investigating this case. Some people wouldn't even need to warn me personally. They could casually send one subordinate to deliver the message, and that alone might be enough to prevent me from investigating even the smallest detail.
"But even now, I haven't received a single warning. It isn't because I've been discreet, nor is it because justice will ultimately triumph over evil. It's because the family that hired me is simply too powerful. In Japan, you could practically say they can cover the sky with one hand.
"That's precisely why so many people hiding in the shadows have already grown unhappy with me investigating the Shōwa 31 case again, yet from beginning to end, not one of them has dared warn me to stop. The moment I stopped, the family that hired me would inevitably find out immediately. And with that family's capabilities, they would just as inevitably discover who threatened me.
"In that family's eyes, I probably don't possess much value. But for now, I'm still a detective they've hired. Warning me to stop at a moment like this would practically amount to warning the family that hired me to stop.
"But across all of Japan, who would dare warn that family?
"So although my investigation is progressing very slowly, whenever I need help or information, no one dares stand in my way.
"After spending so long surrounded by this kind of smooth progress, it's easy to start feeling a little lost. Even if I somehow became Commissioner General of the National Police Agency one day, I still wouldn't be able to enjoy this degree of freedom."
Keryo Ikari quietly listened to Hidari Okumuro's confession, much like a pastor listening to the prayer and confession of a believer who had lost her way.
At that exact moment, the pastor on the platform once again addressed the congregation.
"Dear Heavenly Father, we sincerely thank You. Lord, You embrace us with love at all times despite our many shortcomings. Once again, we thank You for the grace You have bestowed upon us. Lord, You have always taught us to love our enemies, but just how deep are the love and compassion we hold for those enemies? We have failed to live according to Your teachings. Instead, we harbor hatred and resentment toward them. Lord, please forgive us."
Hidari Okumuro couldn't help laughing when she heard the pastor's words from the platform.
"That's exactly why I don't believe in Christianity, or any religion for that matter. Maybe there's some deeper meaning behind those words that I don't understand, and I didn't hear one either. But at the very least, I don't like the way they sound. Are we really supposed to forgive our enemies? I think an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is the right way."
"You're right. That's why I've never taken those words to heart either." Keryo Ikari glanced at Hidari Okumuro and chuckled, clearly agreeing with her.
"Can someone who doesn't fully agree with the teachings really be called a believer?" Hidari Okumuro asked curiously.
"I don't know."
Keryo Ikari shook her head and said indifferently:
"Whenever I have some free time, I come to church to pray and confess. Surely the Lord won't stop listening to my prayers and confessions just because I don't agree with one thing the pastor says?"
"Fair enough."
Only after the pastor finished speaking did Keryo Ikari slowly continue.
"I already know that you're currently devoting everything you have to investigating the Shōwa 31 case.
"And your voluntary resignation some time ago caused quite a stir in police circles. After all, when an Assistant Inspector from the Metropolitan Police Department suddenly resigns of her own accord, the news spreads like blood in the ocean. Let your guard down for even a moment, and before you know it, you'll find yourself surrounded by sharks.
"That's right. Police officers are basically a school of sharks, with 'truth' and 'curiosity' serving as the scent of blood in the water.
"Just like you said, there aren't only people inside the Metropolitan Police Department who are unhappy that you've started investigating this case. Plenty of people in Japan's Public Security Bureau, the Public Prosecutors Office, the National Personnel Authority, and even the Cabinet are displeased with you too. And naturally, there are plenty of powerful figures among them.
"You know this yourself. If someone wants to climb higher in Japan's political or police establishment, who would dare claim their hands are completely clean?
"The serial murders of Shōwa 31 involved far too many families. So many years have passed that everything should've returned to dust, with the truth and all those old grudges buried in the long river of history.
"But now you've started investigating again. Aren't you dragging the terror and bloodshed of Shōwa 31 back into their sight?"
Rather than affirming Hidari Okumuro's actions, Keryo Ikari sounded more like she was scolding her for acting too impulsively.
Hidari Okumuro was just about to speak when Keryo Ikari interrupted her again.
"Ah, I know. You want to say that the Izumi family commissioned you, and that the head of the Izumi family personally gave you the commission. And you also happen to know the Izumi family's little princess—Kotomi Izumi. During the Enoshima serial murder case, you could even be considered Kotomi Izumi's lifesaver. Right?"
"I wouldn't call myself Kotomi Izumi's lifesaver. During that incident, she mainly relied on herself. But it's true that the head of the Izumi family personally commissioned me to investigate the Shōwa 31 murders.
"The private detective agency I run received an enormous investment from a construction company some time ago, with absolutely no expectation of repayment or return. To put it plainly, they basically gave me the money outright.
"I looked into that construction company. It belongs to the Dianxing Group, a Hokkaido-based conglomerate whose main business is real estate. And that conglomerate answers entirely to the Izumi family."
Hidari Okumuro shook her head, denying that she deserved much credit for what had happened during the Enoshima incident.
"Looks like that huge investment was the Izumi family's commission fee. And who knows, maybe it was only the deposit.
"If you really manage to dig out the truth, you might wake up the next day to find another company investing a massive sum into your agency. Then you'll look into that company and discover that no matter which conglomerate it belongs to, everything ultimately traces back to the Izumi family.
"What's that saying again? A Japanese person's life can never escape the Izumi Zaibatsu.
"Congratulations. If you really manage to latch onto the Izumi family's thigh, you'll finally achieve true financial freedom for the rest of your life.
"At that point, you might as well close your detective agency. Put on a leather jacket, wear bright red lipstick, hold a ladies' cigarette between the fingers of one hand, grip the steering wheel with the other, and tear down a straight coastal highway in a scarlet sports car. Enjoy the life of a road movie protagonist."
Keryo Ikari teased her. If any of her coworkers saw her like this, they would probably be astonished. Keryo Ikari, who was usually stern and unsmiling at the Public Prosecutors Office, apparently had a side capable of joking around and teasing people.
But immediately afterward, Keryo Ikari's expression turned serious as she spoke earnestly.
"But protagonists in road movies usually encounter plenty of hardships. And you haven't even driven onto the highway yet, but you're already about to run into yours. So what if the Izumi family personally commissioned you?
"A commission is still only a commission, and they've already paid you. Their support may remove a great deal of resistance while you're investigating, but every commission eventually comes to an end.
"Even if you've accepted a commission from the Izumi family and know their little princess, what happens when the commission is over?
"Once it ends, the Izumi family's protection over you disappears completely. The people who resent you may have been too afraid of the Izumi family to make a move before. They may even have treated you with the utmost courtesy.
"You know the Funamoto family, don't you? The only reason that family possesses so much influence and status in Kyoto is because they're a dog raised by the Izumi family. When people show respect to the Funamoto family, they aren't respecting the Funamoto family. They're respecting the Izumi family.
"But once they learn that your cooperation with the Izumi family has ended, you will absolutely face the fiercest retaliation imaginable.
"When that happens, there's a very real possibility you'll disappear without a trace inside wet concrete, becoming part of a building's support column or foundation. You used to be a detective in the First Investigation Division. You should understand better than anyone that if someone is drowned in concrete and the concrete is allowed to harden, the chances of the body ever being discovered are practically zero."
As Hidari Okumuro listened to Keryo Ikari's earnest warning, her expression didn't change in the slightest, as though the decision she'd already made in her heart could never be shaken.
Seeing that expression made Keryo Ikari's heart tremble, because she understood exactly what it meant. Nothing she'd said had changed Hidari Okumuro's mind at all.
"Fuck... Have you lost your fucking mind?! Are you really that desperate to cling to the Izumi family's thigh?! Are you seriously going to let one moment of greed get you torn to pieces before you're satisfied?! I'm asking you a question!"
Keryo Ikari roared in a fury.
The entire church instantly fell silent. The believers in the front rows turned around and looked toward Keryo Ikari with startled expressions.
The pastor on the platform adjusted his glasses. After recognizing Keryo Ikari sitting there, he said nothing further and simply pretended he'd seen nothing as he continued leading the congregation in prayer.
"No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is made complete in us."
Faced with Keryo Ikari's furious questioning, Hidari Okumuro didn't get angry. Instead, she smiled and shook her head before explaining:
"Keryo, you're wrong. I didn't keep investigating the Shōwa 31 case because the Izumi family commissioned me. Long before I accepted their commission, Yukki and I were already investigating this case together.
"Whether the Izumi family had commissioned me or not, I still would've continued investigating. I know that if I keep going, I'll drag myself into the bloodiest kind of horror, but even so, I won't stop."
"Why?" Keryo Ikari stared at her blankly and asked in disbelief.
Hidari Okumuro placed a hand over her heart and looked directly into Keryo Ikari's face as she spoke with complete seriousness.
"Because of justice. In Shōwa 31, Kuchibana Kirime, head of the Kuchibana family, massacred countless innocent people. She dyed the entire Sengetsu Girls' Academy red with blood and shrouded Gokugū Village in terror.
"Every time I read through the case files, I can almost hear the screams of those innocent victims echoing through the darkness. Yet even now, the truth hidden behind everything has never been uncovered. And ever since Kuchibana Kirime disappeared into the snow-covered mountains of Hokuriku that year, no one has ever seen her again. If she's alive, no one has seen her. If she's dead, no one has seen her body.
"I don't want the truth to simply be buried by time. And Yukki and I both have a feeling that the bizarre serial murders of Shōwa 31 may never have truly ended. The slaughter may very well begin again soon! I want to do everything I can to stop it before things reach the point of no return.
"So whether or not the Izumi family commissions me or helps me, I'll keep investigating until the day the truth finally comes to light."
"You're not even a police officer anymore. You're just a private detective. Does the word justice really matter that much to you?" Keryo Ikari asked weakly as she looked at Hidari Okumuro.
Hidari Okumuro nodded without hesitation and replied seriously.
"I've actually been through a great deal before this. Especially after that case in Kanagawa. It made me start questioning procedural justice.
"Is procedural justice necessarily good? When victims are facing injustice and terror, can procedural justice truly give them fairness? Are the people enforcing procedural justice guaranteed to follow the proper procedures completely while remaining unwaveringly committed to justice and fairness?
"I don't know whether procedural justice or substantive justice is better.
"But between the two, I chose substantive justice. That's the real reason I resigned.
"I want to spend my entire life putting the justice I believe in into practice."
At this point, Hidari Okumuro couldn't help smiling.
"Doesn't Christianity have a word called martyr? I'm willing to become a martyr who dies while searching for justice. Perhaps even when I die, I still won't understand what true justice actually is. But can the process of practicing the justice in my heart while searching for true justice really be worthless and meaningless?"
Keryo Ikari fell silent. Only after a long time did she finally speak again.
"Since you've already decided to walk this road... fine. Then I'll tell you about someone. During your investigation, you need to be extremely careful of her. She never appeared in the case files for the Shōwa 31 serial murders, but if you want to understand why Kuchibana Kirime killed so many people back then, there's one person you absolutely need to learn about. Or perhaps I should say... one monster?"
"A monster?"
"Mm."
Keryo Ikari nodded before continuing:
"A white-haired girl who wanders through the river of time, possessing an immortal life spanning ten thousand years, like the very incarnation of the word 'eternity'—the Dove, Black Xu Fu."
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven